A Cybermobile, Frogs, and Lifelong Learning

Abstract

Muncie Community Schools' Adult Education Prooram How does an adult student learn to dissect a frog? Have you ever heard of a dry lab? Ever hear of a Cybermobile? Are your teachers up to speed with computers? All of these questions deal with bringing computer technology into the adult education classroom. It is imperative to integrate computer technology in the Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Adult Secondary Credit (ASC) classrooms. Adults are faced with using computers in just about every aspect of their lives from data entry to obtaining a movie rental card at the local video rental store, or completing a pre-employment examination given on a computer terminal at a nearby automotive plant. In today's society, one of the basics of education is computer literacy. This includes everything from using computers as tutorials for building basic skill levels to using various software programs that an adult would encounter in the workplace. Muncie Community Schools' (MCS) Adult Education Program has integrated the use of computers in their ABE and ASC programs to benefit adult learners, not only in accomplishing their educational goals or gaining employment, but for improving their confidence levels when they find out that they too can operate a computer. MCS Adult Education Program has, through various local grants, obtained funds that have provided computers at most of the ABE and ASC sites. Grant writing is hard work, but the students' results are worth the headaches. At some sites where it is not feasible to set up computers, MCS partnered with the Muncie Public Library to bring computers to the ABE site through the use of their Cybermobile. What is a Cybermobile? It is a former bookmobile that contains six computer stations complete with software and Internet access. The library personnel selected software for the cybermobile that teaches adults about computers and applications for building basic skill levels. It proved to be a great partnership! ABE and ASC students use a combination of application and curriculum software. Microsoft Office 97 is the major application software. Students use the word processor for reports, essays, letter writing and journal writing. For many adult learners, there is a great deal of satisfaction that comes from seeing their thoughts prepared in a typed format. They use Excel for producing spreadsheets and preparing graphs. PowerPoint is used as a report tool and a tutorial. For example, credit students completing a math credit are required to build a slide presentation explaining a math concept or problem that the student had difficulty understanding, based upon their TABE results. The end result is a better understanding of the math concept, the skills to use Powerpoint, and a lot of fun incorporating graphics, clip art and sound effects into their presentations. We also have a program called The Student Writing and Resource Center that is used in all subjects. This program is a desktop publisher that is integrated with the Compton's Encyclopedia. This allows the student to go from the word processor to the encyclopedia and back again through program icons. An advantage this software provides is the student can copy any article or picture they want and place it in their document. …